Could You Survive Stalin’s Great Terror?

A coworker you barely know is arrested one night as an "enemy of the people." At the next factory meeting, everyone is expected to speak. What do you do?

• Join in denouncing him along with everyone else
• Stay silent to avoid getting involved
• Quietly defend him, since you doubt he's guilty
• Leave the meeting early to avoid the vote

You have an old address book with contacts from a trip abroad years ago, and letters from a foreign friend. The arrests are spreading. What's the safer choice?

• Keep them, destroying them looks suspicious
• Destroy them quietly
• Hide them somewhere in your apartment
• Report the foreign contact to the authorities first

Under interrogation, the NKVD demands you confess and name others in your "conspiracy." You are innocent and know nothing. What was the grim reality of this situation?

• Holding out honestly would eventually free you
• A confession would earn you a lighter sentence you could survive
• Demanding a lawyer would halt the process
• Torture usually produced a confession regardless, and naming others was expected

Your building committee is quietly encouraging residents to report "suspicious" neighbors. A neighbor you dislike has said careless things. Denouncing him would remove a rival and prove your vigilance. What's the hidden danger?

• There is none, denunciation was rewarded
• Denouncers were frequently arrested in turn, as their accusations drew scrutiny
• The neighbor might denounce you first
• The committee would suspect your motives

It's the small hours of the morning and there's a heavy knock at the door. Your family is asleep. Realistically, what did this moment mean?

• A misunderstanding you could talk your way out of
• A chance to flee out a back exit
• A neighbor needing help
• The NKVD favored these hours, and there was usually no escaping it

You're a mid-level factory manager. An accident damages some equipment. In the atmosphere of the times, how should you understand this?

• A routine problem to be logged and fixed
• A chance to show competence by handling it calmly
• A potential accusation of "wrecking" that could destroy you
• Someone else's responsibility entirely

A friend confides bitterly, in private, that he thinks the arrests have gone too far and the leadership has lost its mind. What is the wise, if cold, understanding of this moment?

• Agree honestly, since you're alone together
• Even a private complaint was dangerous, and the friend could be a risk to you
• Argue with him to change his mind
• Report him immediately to be safe

Your surname is of Polish origin, and there is a campaign underway against people of certain ethnic backgrounds. What was the hard truth about your situation?

• Your loyalty as a citizen would protect you
• Changing your name would definitely save you
• Only recent immigrants were at risk
• Certain ethnic groups were targeted regardless of individual conduct

You survive the worst of the Terror. In 1938, the NKVD chief Yezhov is himself arrested and shot. What did this signify?

• The Terror was over and safety returned
• Even the architects of the Terror were consumed by it
• A new and worse wave was beginning
• The victims would be released and cleared

Looking back on the whole nightmare, what actually determined whether an ordinary person survived the Great Terror?

• Careful, loyal, blameless behavior
• Cleverness in avoiding suspicion
• Devotion to Stalin and the Party
• Mostly luck, over which individuals had little control